The essence of a successful web presence is to create unique materials offering subject expertise (or a niche) to a well-defined group. Â For those of us in government, associations and nonprofits the problem is offering websites that cater to those not fully Internet engaged.

The religious community transcends barriers as to Internet savvy or age or income. They tend to be highly motivated. They will learn or do whatever they have to do to exchange information and participate.

Iâ€™ve seen order people with limited to no computer experience go to classes just so they can see the Pope say Mass or to interact with the faithful. Others expressing fear of a computer make a purchase just to be part of a national religious community.

Note that the research below does not necessarily indicate that the religious use the Internet at higher rates (in some cases they do) but what it does say is that they are active users and see a web presence as useful in accomplishing organizational goals.

Who are the power users?

Additional groups who have a tendency to overcome all obstacles to gain access to websites and social media include: people learning languages; those reconnecting with their homelands or ethnic connections; cooking; mommy and daddy bloggers; war veterans reconnecting with comrades and those interested in politics. Needless to say, younger audiences reach maturity with a computer keyboard in hand so any topic that skews younger will have more success.

There are groups not Internet savvy for a wide variety of reasons. â€œIfâ€ your expertise involves an effort to reach these groups via social media or websites, you have an uphill battle.Â Older individuals and Â categories including the building trades (plumbers, electricians, carpenters) members of the criminal justice system and others will be a challenge.

Internet use skews towards those with higher incomes, college educations and the professions. If your niche is not part of that demographic, your outreach activities will be more challenging.

What this means is sites seeking an audience not including power users must work harder to establish an audience especially as it pertains to obtaining referrals links from established websites. You may have to purchase advertising. You may have to put extraordinary emphasis on platforms where there is a comfort level (e.g. email).

The good news is that you are somewhat alone to pursue your audience; you may be one of the first to serve them (those first are often successful especially with emerging groups).

SelectedÂ summary of Pew research

Some 40% of Americans say they are active in a church, religious, or spiritual organization.

A survey by the Pew Research Centerâ€™s Internet & American Life Project asked people about their membership in 28 different kinds of organizations and clubs. Religious and spiritual organizations topped the list, and those who were active in such groups were more active in all kinds of groups (not necessarily Internet based).

With regard toÂ technology, religiously active Americans use the Internet, email, broadband, cell phones and social media platforms at similar rates to other Americans.

Americans who are members of religious groups are also engaged with core technology at levels similar to or higher than the overall population. Asked about their technology usage:

79% of Americans who are active in religious groups are Internet users, compared with 75% of those not involved with religious groups

86% of Americans who are active in religious groups areÂ cell phone users, compared with 80% of those not involved with religious groups

75% of religiously active Americans areÂ email users, compared with 68% of those who are not involved with religious groups.

46% of these religiously active AmericansÂ use social networking sitesÂ such as Facebook, compared with 49% of those who are not involved with religious groups.

9% of these religiously active AmericansÂ use Twitter, compared with 10% of those not involved with religious groups

Asked about their ownÂ personal involvementÂ with all kinds of groups, those who are religiously active often haveÂ good things to say about the role of the InternetÂ with those groups. Still, the religiously active are somewhat less likely to salute the Internetâ€™s impact on their own groups than their non-religious counterparts. For example:

49% of the religiously active view the Internet as having a major impact and 34% having a minor impact on the ability toÂ keep up with news and information from the groups in which they are activeÂ (compared with 59% and 25% for the non-religious).

38% of the religiously active view the Internet as having a major impact and 37% having a minor impact on theÂ ability to organize group activitiesÂ for their groupsÂ (compared with 46% and 28% for the non-religious).

34% of the religiously active view the Internet as having a major impact and 38% having a minor impact on the ability toÂ find interesting groups to joinÂ (compared with 42% and 28% for the non-religious).

22% of the religiously active view the Internet as having a major impact and 43% having a minor impact on the ability toÂ volunteer their time to groups in which they are activeÂ (compared with 27% and 37% for the non-religious).

20% of the religiously active view the Internet as having a major impact and 38% having a minor impact on the ability toÂ contribute money to groupsÂ (compared with 28% and 31% for the non-religious).

When people are asked about their group activities,Â it is clear that they believe the Internet is having a wide-ranging impactÂ on their own engagement within civic and social groups.Â This is true for all Americans, including those who are active in religious groups and organizations.Â Asked to assess the overall impact of the Internet on group activities:

68% of Americans who are active in religious groups (Internet users and non-users alike) said the Internet has had a major impact on the ability of groups toÂ communicate with members.

62% of Americans who are active in religious groups said the Internet has had a major impact on the ability of groups toÂ draw attention to an issue.

57% of Americans who are active in religious groups said the Internet has had a major impact on the ability of groups toÂ connect with other groups.

58% of Americans who are active in religious groups said the Internet has had a major impact on the ability of groups toÂ impact society at large.

57% of Americans who are active in religious groups said the Internet has had a major impact on the ability of groups toÂ organize activities.

46% of Americans who are active in religious groups said the Internet has had a major impact on the ability of groups toÂ raise money.

44% of Americans who are active in religious groups said the Internet has had a major impact on the ability of groups toÂ recruit new members.

46% of Americans who are active in religious groups said the Internet has had a major impact on the ability of groups toÂ impact local communities.

30% of Americans who are active in religious groups said the Internet has had a major impact on the ability of groups toÂ find people to take leadership roles.

Iâ€™m a graduate of several universities with a post-Masterâ€™s Degree from the Johns Hopkins University. I have 40 years in government ( I started as a police officer) with 30 of those years involved in public relations and social media at the national and state levels.

Trending on SocialEarth

Latest Videos

Conscious Living TV

News from 3BL Media

Company

About

SocialEarth is the leading source for news and information about social entrepreneurship. The company has over 130 contributors in 25 countries which cover the latest trends and provide thoughtful analysis on socially and environmentally conscious news.

Contribute

Are you a socially conscious author? Social entrepreneur? Perhaps a journalism student interested in the green movement? Come write for SocialEarth!
Apply.